Six people, who were a part of a "straw donor scheme" in an effort to elect New York City Mayor Eric Adams in 202, were indicted Friday, NBC reports.
Per NBC, "the indictment does not accuse Adams of wrongdoing, but says the six accused were trying to curry favor with his campaign with the goal of landing city business."
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, according to the report, noted the "indictment charges the defendants with subverting campaign finance laws by improperly structuring campaign contributions."
Prosecutors said the group used almost two dozen straw donors — people they could funnel donations through and sidestep donation limits.
The size of the individual donations was generally about $250, but the city had an eight-to-one matching program for the election — meaning each of those donations could be matched with $2,000 in public funds from the New York City Campaign Finance Board.
"We allege a deliberate scheme to game the system in a blatant attempt to gain power," Bragg said.
Evan Thies, Adams' 2021 campaign spokesman said in a statement, "There is no indication that the campaign or the mayor is involved in this case or under investigation. The campaign always held itself to the highest standards and we would never tolerate these actions."
